The 411 on Calories

The 411 on Calories
Find out how many calories you need to keep your body fueled and fit.

By Krisha McCoy, MS

Medically reviewed by Niya Jones, MD, MPH

If you're interested in nutrition or weight loss, you no doubt pay a lot of attention to calories. But do you know what exactly calories are, and how many you really need?

Calories: The Good, the Bad, and the Empty
There is really no such thing as "good" or "bad" calories. "Your body processes each calorie the same," says Kimberly Lummus, MS, RD, Texas Dietetic Association media representative and public relations coordinator for the Austin Dietetic Association in Austin, Texas. But Lummus adds that some foods are far more nutritious than others. "We strive to make our calories the most nutrient-dense that we can, meaning that we are packing in a lot of nutrition for a very small amount of calories. You are optimizing your calorie budget, so to speak."

While calories get a negative rap when it comes to weight control, calories are actually an important source of fuel you cannot live without. "Your body needs calories for energy," says Lummus. Calories are the force behind everything we do, including eating, sleeping, and breathing.

"Calories are how much energy your body gets from the food and beverages that it consumes," says Lummus. Most food sources are composed of some combination of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, and each of these nutrients contains calories. Yet it's important to stay away from "empty" calories in foods like sweets and soda, warns Lummus.

Calories: Finding Your Magic Number
You must find the right balance of calories every day, depending on your overall goals. "Eating too many calories and not burning enough through physical activities would yield a weight gain, while not eating enough calories [to keep up with your calorie burn] would yield a weight loss," says Lummus.

The number of calories a person needs depends on many individual factors, including age, weight, height, and activity level. When dieticians counsel clients on calorie needs, they take all of these facts into consideration and come up with a suggestion for how many calories are needed to maintain, lose, or gain weight.

In general, men need between 2,000 to 2,400 calories and woman between 1,200 and 1,500 calories per day. Consuming less than 1,200 calories per day can be harmful to your health, notes Lummus, since it may trigger your body to go into starvation mode, causing your body to actually hold onto calories.

Teenagers' caloric needs can vary considerably. For example, teenage boys may require up to 3,000 calories per day, while teenage girls usually need around 2,200 calories each day. "For children, calorie needs are going to change a lot more because they are growing so rapidly," Lummus continues. She says that infants 5 to 12 months of age need around 850 calories daily, 1- to 3-year-olds need roughly 1,300 calories daily, 4- to 6-year-olds need about 1,800 calories daily, and 7- to 10-year-olds require 2,000 calories daily.

"Counting calories is usually not necessary for children," says Lummus. "You just want to make sure that your child is getting all of the requirements from all of the food groups."

Both children and adults should get the bulk of their calories from a variety of healthful foods, including low-fat or fat-free dairy products, fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein sources — the building blocks of a nutritious diet.

Just blogging

Okay. This blog is for me to put my articles on, but its also to help me lose weight. I started at the beginning of January at 195 lbs. I'm down to 181.2 lbs as of this morning. Before I left for Disney I was at 181. So I've lost the weight I gained at Disney. I admit I've been slack on things after Disney, but I'm back in the game.

We're doing a "Biggest Loser" Challenge at work and I need to win it! *grins* The winner gets the jackpot of $200. Isn't that sweet? It only cost $10 to get in. For each pound gained (with a 2 lb leeway) over your starting weight you have to pay an extra $1. I've lost a total of 13.8 lbs so far. I think I'm doing good. I just need to get back to the gym and exercise. I've busted my butt the past two days in the gym. I feel like I've made a lot of progress since the first of the year. My muscles are stronger. I feel more fit!

I watch the biggest loser on Tuesday nights and wonder how some of those people drop 5-10 lbs in a week. I know they do extreme workouts. I'm going to try to push myself at the gym to go out of my comfort zone and to lose the weight I want. There are some people on that show that have lost 140 lbs in just 17 weeks which is amazing! I can't to see who wins! I'm rooting for Tara. I think she's a very strong woman and I applaude the efforts she's made and all the challenges she's won on there.

10 Ways to Get Psyched for Weight Loss

Ready, Set, Lose Weight
Weight loss is a journey. Make sure you're in the right frame of mind by mentally preparing yourself for the road ahead.

By Diana Rodriguez

Medically reviewed by Pat F. Bass III, MD, MPH

Losing weight — and keeping it off for good — requires both physical and mental preparation. You need to determine a weight-loss plan that you are able to stick with for the long haul. It's not easy, but there are steps you can take to stay motivated.

10 Ways to Get Psyched for Weight Loss

1. Commit. "The first step is making a commitment to yourself," says Anne Wolf, RD, a registered dietitian and researcher at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. "Make a commitment and then share that commitment with somebody else." This will make you more accountable to your diet, exercise plan, and weight-loss goals.
   
2. Make a plan. "Think about you as a person, as a whole being, and come up with a plan that's going to be best for you," says Wolf. It should be a program that will help you lose weight, but also be easy to stick to. This goes for both diet and exercise.
   
3. Don't wait for the "right time." At one time or another, everyone has determined what they think is the perfect time to start a diet — after the holidays, after vacation, after tomorrow. "I think it's important to recognize that there's never a perfect time to start," says Martin Binks, PhD, director of behavioral health research at the Duke Diet and Fitness Center and assistant professor at the Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C.
   
4. Get in the right mindset. Don't fall into an "all-or-nothing" way of thinking, stresses Binks. You don't have to give up all decadent foods or exercise strenuously every day of the week. It's about small changes in your lifestyle that you can stick with and that will brings results overtime.
   
5. Be realistic. "Think about how your life is right now, and what you can realistically achieve in terms of an exercise and eating plan," says Binks. That means considering all aspects of your life, including work and family responsibilities. "If you will be traveling for business over the next two months, you probably need to think of a plan to eat healthily in restaurants instead of a stringent plan you would always need to modify," says Binks.
   
6. Make time for exercise. Fitness is a key component of losing and keeping off weight. It's important to create an exercise plan that's realistic according to your schedule. "Think about how much time you're going to have for exercise. Anything that gets you moving in the right direction is a good start," says Binks. Decide to make physical activity part of every day. All those extra steps add up to pounds lost, and it's even easier when they're steps that you don't really consider exercise — like a walk during lunch hour or hiking in a state park on the weekend.
   
7. Figure out what motivates you. Ask yourself questions to figure out what will help you meet your weight-loss goals, advises Wolf. For example, "Do you need a workout buddy? A reward at certain goals? How can you incorporate healthy foods that you enjoy? What types of activity don't feel like work to you?" These answers will help you formulate a plan that you can stick with.
   
8. Don't think diet, think life change. Preparing to lose weight isn't about starting a diet, it's about "starting to make healthy adjustments that you're going to fit into your life," says Binks. Being "on a diet" implies that it will end. To maintain a healthy weight, the diet and exercise changes you make in your life should be permanent.
   
9. Create a network for weight loss. "There's a social network that begins to develop as you start to attend fitness classes," says Wolf. Taking a yoga, aerobics, spinning, or kickboxing class gives you support. Make friends at the gym, or visit online community groups to find individuals with similar weight-loss goals. Not only will losing weight be more fun, but it will also be more effective.
   
10. Use outside resources. "If you have a difficult time with meals, there are companies like Jenny Craig that prepare your meals for you, if you have the money for them," says Wolf. She also suggests considering what sort of gyms, classes, and parks you have nearby — facilities that help you achieve your weight-loss goals.

It's not about preparing for a diet, but changing your life so that you don't need to diet. Eventually making healthy food choices and getting regular exercise will become a part of your day you don't even have to think about!

Do the Cardio You Love

JillianMichaels.com

Doing your first cardio workout can be a little overwhelming, particularly if you're doing it at a gym. There are rows and rows of different machines to choose from. Do you walk, row, step, or climb your way to fitness? Which is best?

The answer is, any of the above. You should do whatever you enjoy the most — just make sure you're pushing yourself and keeping your heart rate at 85 percent of maximum. Sure, some machines are more effective than others. But if you dread and avoid certain exercises, it will be harder to motivate yourself, right?
Make sure to keep it fresh — if you've been doing the treadmill for a while, switch to the stepper for a few weeks. If you have access to only one type of cardio machine, you can change the way you use it every once in a while so that you avoid the workout plateau and keep yourself challenged and motivated.

Another Tip: No Gym Needed
Jumping rope and doing jumping jacks are excellent forms of cardio that you can do anywhere. It takes time to build up endurance for jumping, though, so try doing intervals at first — jump one minute, rest the next, and so on. You'll find that by jumping, you'll burn calories and tone your quads, hamstrings, and calves. Try different types of jumps to target different leg muscles. When jumping rope, try kicking your butt (I'm serious!) or bringing your knees up as high as you can in between jumps. The possibilities are endless with this simple activity.

A Pre-Workout Meal to Help You Burn Fat

A Pre-Workout Meal to Help You Burn Fat

THURSDAY, April 23 (HealthDay News) -- The type of carbohydrates you eat before a workout may influence how much fat you burn during your exercise session, new research suggests.

Women who ate a breakfast rich in carbohydrates that do not cause a spike in blood sugar -- think muesli, yogurt, skimmed milk -- burned 50 percent more fat during a post-breakfast workout than did those who ate a breakfast rich in the kind of carbohydrates known to make blood sugar rise sharply, such as cornflakes and white bread.

Carbs that cause a sharp blood sugar rise are known as high-glycemic index carbs, while those that don't are called low-glycemic index carbs.

While other researchers have also found that a low-glycemic menu is beneficial to fat-burning, the new study has some unique points, noted lead author Emma Stevenson, a senior lecturer at Northumbria University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, U.K. She conducted the study while at the University of Nottingham.

"Most of the research in the effects of the glycemic load of pre-exercise feeding has been carried out in male subjects," Stevenson said. Most of it also has focused on endurance athletes, which doesn't describe the bulk of the population.

Instead, the new study included eight women of a typical healthy weight who averaged 24 years of age. On two different occasions, the women ate either a high- or the low-glycemic index breakfast, then walked on a treadmill for 60 minutes three hours later. Stevenson's group drew blood samples before the breakfast and also during and after the exercise to measure parameters such as free fatty acids, which are a marker for fat burning.

The average amount of fat oxidized during the exercise was 7.4 grams after the low-glycemic meal but just 3.7 grams the higher glycemic index meal, a nearly 50 percent difference.

Why the disparity? High-glycemic index carbs are known to spur a big spike in blood sugar, and the researchers believe that a meal rich in low-glycemic carbs, which elicit a lower blood sugar response, may boost the body's use of body fat for burning rather than for blood sugar.

Each breakfast totaled about 265 calories, but the low-glycemic meal had more fiber, the team noted.
The study was funded by Mars UK, the food and candy company. It is published in the May issue of The Journal of Nutrition.

The take-home message, according to Stevenson: To burn more fat, focus on the low-glycemic foods. "LGI foods tend to be whole grains, porridge, some whole grain cereals, soy and linseed bread," she said.
The new study makes sense and builds on previous research, said Barry Braun, director of the Energy Metabolism Laboratory at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, who has done his own research on post-workout eating.

While Stevenson's study findings are limited to healthy-weight women, Braun said he suspects it will also hold true for those hoping to shed excess pounds. "Eating large amounts of high-glycemic carbs right before exercise is probably as detrimental for overweight people as it is for normal-weight," he said.

Like Stevenson, he said he is talking about pre-exercise meals for those who work out at less than triathlon intensity. "There may be a place for these high-glycemic carbs" when an athlete needs high energy immediately, such as before running a marathon, Braun said.

Last year, Braun's own research found that the type of food eaten after exercise can make a difference in weight control for everyday exercisers.

Based on his studies, Braun suggests that eating a meal low in carbohydrates after working out at moderate intensity, is potentially better for weight control than eating a meal high in carbs.

Health Tip: Too Much Exercise Isn't Good Either

(HealthDay News) -- Getting regular exercise is great for your body and can help relieve stress. But as with any beneficial activity, you can overdo it.

The American Council on Exercise offers these warning signs of over-exercise:

• Difficulty exercising to your normal level.
  
• Feeling uncoordinated.
  
• Taking longer than usual to recover.
  
• Faster heart rate (in the morning) and blood pressure levels at rest.
  
• Lack of appetite.
  
• Headache and muscle aches.
  
• Digestive or stomach problems.
  
• More frequent illness, bone injuries or muscular injuries.
  
• Problems sleeping.
  

Lifestyle Factors Tied to Older Adults' Diabetes Risk

Lifestyle Factors Tied to Older Adults' Diabetes Risk

4/28/2009

TUESDAY, April 28 (HealthDay News) --Numerous lifestyle factors affect older adults' risk of diabetes, a new study finds.

U.S. researchers analyzed the link between lifestyle and incidence of diabetes over 10 years in 4,883 men and women aged 65 and older. The lifestyle factors examined included physical activity, dietary habits, tobacco and alcohol use, and amount of body fat.

The study authors found that each of these lifestyle factors was independently associated with incidence of diabetes. Overall, each positive score in a lifestyle factor was associated with a 35 percent lower risk of diabetes among those with a low-risk lifestyle.

People with good physical activity and dietary habits had a 46 percent lower incidence of diabetes. Those classified as low-risk based on their physical activity, dietary habits, smoking habits, and alcohol consumption had an 82 percent lower incidence of diabetes. Not having those four low-risk lifestyle habits appeared to be associated with 80 percent of new cases of diabetes.

People who had those four low-risk lifestyle habits -- and also weren't overweight or didn't have a large waist circumference -- were 89 percent less likely to develop diabetes.

The study is published in the April 27 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

"These findings provide an estimate of the public health burden of combined non-optimal lifestyle risk factors for incidence of diabetes in older adults, the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population. Our findings suggest that, even later in life, the great majority of cases of diabetes are related to lifestyle factors," wrote the researchers from Harvard Medical School and the Cardiovascular Health Study.

The Truth About Metabolism

The Truth About Metabolism

There's only one way you can boost your metabolism legitimately. Find out what works and what doesn't.

By Madeline Vann, MPH

If you've ever tried to lose weight, you've probably wished you could speed up your metabolism and burn calories more easily. Weight-loss programs often promise to provide "metabolism-boosting" secrets, but the savvy dieter should know that many of these are just gimmicks.

Many theories about metabolism are falsely rooted in the idea that there are particular foods or beverages that will magically increase your ability to burn calories. While most nutritionists agree that eating meals based on whole grains and lean proteins is a healthy diet practice, this approach won't actually help you burn calories faster. Neither will "fat-burning" foods like grapefruit or cabbage.

"Unfortunately, there isn't a food that we can eat that is going to burn away those excess pounds," says Jenna Anding, PhD, RD, of the department of nutrition and food science at Texas A&M in College Station, Texas.

Here's the truth about other popular metabolism-boosting theories, including the one that actually works.

5 Metabolism Boosters: Separating Fact From Fiction

Don't eat close to bedtime. You may have been told not to eat too close to bedtime because of the theory that your metabolism slows down at night and you'll lose less weight than you would if you ate the same food earlier in the day. Not true, says Donna L. Weihofen, MS, RD, health nutritionist at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics in Madison, Wisc. "Calories count whether you eat them in the morning or at night. The problem with nighttime eaters is that they are usually eating far more calories than they think, and the calories are denser."

Drinking water speeds metabolism. Drinking plenty of water is healthful for a number of reasons, but it doesn't make your body burn calories faster. It can help you feel full, which may keep some cravings at bay. "But that effect doesn't last very long," Weihofen cautions. "One of the things that does help is soup before a meal. A broth-type soup does help cut down on the amount of calories you will eat." Of course, broth won't speed metabolism, either, but it will help you stick to your diet plan.

Eat at the same time or at certain times every day to burn calories. Some diets recommend eating every couple of hours, while others advise sticking to a consistent schedule or number of meals for weight-loss success. Following a set schedule may help you stick to a diet plan, but doesn't help you burn more calories. "There's no magic to that," explains Weihofen. "It's whatever fits your lifestyle and your diet."

Eating breakfast boosts metabolism. Eating breakfast on a regular basis is important for shedding pounds, but not solely because it improves your metabolism, says Emily Banes, RD, clinical dietitian at Houston Northwest Medical Center. "People who eat only one meal a day will shut down their metabolism. So breakfast is partly a metabolism-booster and it is partly to make sure you stay on track for the rest of the day," notes Banes. People who eat breakfast are less likely to binge later in the day, which of course promotes weight loss.

Build muscle. The reality is that there is only one way to enhance metabolism: Build more lean muscle mass. "The best way to increase metabolism is by incorporating physical activity, both cardio and weight training, to increase lean muscle mass, which is what burns the calories!" advises Dr. Anding.

Even at rest, muscle tissue burns more calories than fat, Anding says. So weight-loss programs that encourage strength training and other forms of exercise to improve your metabolism are your best bet.

10 Steps to Manage Your Weight

10 Steps to Manage Your Weight

Practice these simple, everyday food and fitness smarts to keep your hard-fought new weight.

By Madeline Vann, MPH

You've just lost weight and you don't want to see that number go back up on your scale. With these 10 tricks from dietitians and successful dieters, you'll be able to maintain your weight with ease.

1. Build more lean muscle. Maintain, or even increase, your metabolism by continuing to build lean muscle. "Muscle has a higher metabolism than fat does," explains Emily Banes, RD, clinical dietitian at Houston Northwest Medical Center. If you don't yet train with weights, add this type of exercise to your overall program now. If you do, increase the amount of weight you're working with to keep yourself challenged.

2. Fight off hunger with more filling foods. A three-year University of Pittsburgh study of 284 women between the ages of 25 and 45 found that those who avoided weight gain the best were the ones whose meals kept them feeling full. "Keeping that feeling of fullness can be done with foods high in fiber — think fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein," says Jenna Anding, PhD, RD, of the department of nutrition and food science at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.

3. Avoid temptation. The University of Pittsburgh study also found that women who best controlled their weight were good at resisting the temptation to binge on forbidden treats. This doesn't mean never indulging in a gooey dessert again, but rather picking — and limiting — your moments. There are many ways to avoid daily temptations, including planning ahead when eating out and banning your worst weaknesses from the house.

4. Count calories. Another hallmark of successful weight maintenance, according to the University of Pittsburgh study, is regularly counting calories. Use your calculator to keep a running total throughout the day if that helps you keeps track of calorie consumption. Maintaining weight loss is hard; it's okay to be as careful as you were during the weight- loss phase of your diet.

5. Plan your meals in advance. A maintenance diet has a lot of the same components as a weight-loss diet. Having a meal-by-meal plan that you can stick to, although it has more calories than your diet plan did, can act as a guide to keep you on track.

6. Consider adding minutes to your exercise plan. Experts recommend at least 30 minutes of physical activity five days a week, but emphasize that the more you exercise, the better able you are to maintain a weight loss. You should aim for 60 to 90 minutes of physical activity every day.

7. Measure your portions. According to a Center for Disease Control (CDC) study of more than 4,000 U.S. adults, the biggest factors in success were measuring portions and fats, the most caloric foods, in particular. This doesn't mean you have to carry a food scale everywhere you go, but using it as often as possible at home will teach you how to eyeball portion sizes at restaurants and immediately know how much to eat, and how much to take home in a doggie bag.

8. Weigh yourself daily. The same CDC study reported that people who weigh themselves once a day are twice as successful at keeping off lost weight as those who don't step on the scale as often. Daily weigh-ins, which can be discouraging when you're on a diet, can be a boon during maintenance; they let you see, and stop, any slow creep upward as soon as it happens.

9. Include dairy in your diet. According to a study of 338 adults, those who ate three or more servings of low-fat dairy daily were more likely to keep off the weight than those who ate one serving or less. For women in particular, this has the additional benefit of improving bone health.

10. Let your plate be your guide. When you can't count calories or measure portions accurately, Banes recommends using the "plate method" as a way to control the amount you're eating. A great tip for dieters, it works just as well for people on a maintenance plan. Simply put, when you serve yourself using this method, at least half your plate should be vegetables and the remaining space should be divided evenly between lean protein and whole grains. If you go back for seconds, limit yourself to vegetables, fruit or low-fat dairy.